Dispenser having measured delivery from an outlet



Nov."7, 1967 L. E. MCQUADE 3,351,246

DISPENSER HAVING MEASURED DELIVERY FROM AN OUTLET Filed Sept. 8, 1966 Q I O /Z United States Patent 3,351,246 DISPENSER HAVING MEASURED DELIVERY FROM AN OUTLET Lawrence E. McQuade, Fairview Park, Ohio, assignor to National Service Industries, Inc., Atlanta, Ga. Filed Sept. 8, 1966, Ser. No. 577,977 2 Claims. (Cl. 222380) This invention relates to a dispenser having a measured delivery from an outlet and particularly to a dispenser of that sort which may be used to deliver a measured quantity of thick substance such as pasty soap through an opening which leads to the outside atmosphere and adjacent to which the hand may be held, to receive the measured quantity.

US. Patent 3,197,083 discloses a dispenser of the sort which is presented by the present application. The construction, operation and function of the present dispenser and that dispenser shown in Patent No. 3,197,083 are exactly the same except that the delivery and outlet arrangements are not the same and are modified by the present disclosure to provide an improved operation for certain types of substances dispensed from the container. The dispenser in Patent No. 3,197,083 had an outlet tube with a small opening or port from which the measured quantity from the conveyor was delivered to the hand of the recipient by one turn of the crank. The outlet remained open at all times and therefore the interior of the dispenser was open to the outside and especially the waterless hand cleaning substance or the like which, according to some compounds, is an emulsion that may deteriorate somewhat when exposed to certain atmospheres which could cause a slight and intermittent dripping from the opening. This would perhaps be more apt to occur if the dispenser were not used quite frequently and would depend to some extent on the type of compound. However, it is objectionable for certain specific uses and applications and has been eliminated by the present invention.

Generally described, without restriction on the scope of my invention as defined in the appended claims, and with general reference to the disclosure in Patent No. 3,197,083 for an understanding of the more basic operation of the dispenser and the compound therein, the outlet on the main dispenser body or container is a somewhat cylindrical arrangement which has a small opening or port thereof so that gravity aids in the dispensing of the product as well as the delivery by the respective helical portion of the screw conveyor. A crank on one side of the dispenser moves the crank shaft and screw conveyor and delivers a measured quantity when the crank is turned a full rotation normally from a bottom or down position around back to the same initial position. According to the present invention, the screw conveyor, or other portion of the end of the crank shaft, has been modified and provided with a valve in a preferred form being a small piece of curved metal strip formed with or otherwise attached to a portion of the curved edge of the conveyor and located so as to be over the small opening in the outlet at approximately the down position of the conveyor crank. Gravity assists in keeping the conveyor crank in a down position and normal habit and use dictates that the crank be turned one rotation and dropped down to the initial position which always places the valve in closed position preventing any dripping of the substance from the opening and also reducing the exposure to the atmosphere through the outlet port.

An object of this invention is to provide a valve means for a dispenser to reduce the exposure to the atmosphere of the substance in the dispenser when not in use.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a means automatically operated in conjunction with a hand operated dispenser to close the dispensing openings after a dispensing cycle.

An additional object of this invention is found in the particular mode of construction because of the simplicity, durability and dependability of operation.

Another object of this invention is to improve disensers of the sort that convey hand cleaners and the like through an outlet by closing that outlet when the machine is not in operation to reduce the exposure to the atmosphere.

Other and further objects and advantages of my invention become apparent upon reading the following specifications taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a typical dispenser to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a partial top plan view of a dispenser shown in FIG. 1 with the container removed.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along lines 3-3, in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along lines 4-4 in FIG. 3 and showing the present valve closure means.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along lines 5-5 in FIG. 4, showing a better view of the valve closure means.

Referring initially to FIG. 1 and then to the other figures, the entire dispenser is identified generally by reference to numeral 10 and comprises a removable container 12 which may be a can of thick soap or pasty compound, such as a so-called emulsion waterless cleaner, which container 12 is replaceable in the dispenser body 14 on which is an outlet tube or cylindrical portion 18 having closed end or front 20 and a small opening or port dispensing outlet 22 in the bottom from which is received a small measured quantity 24 into the palm of the hand 26 of the recipient. The other side of the con tainer body 14 has an actuating crank 28 which may be operated by the other hand 30.

The dispenser body 14 has a closed bottom 32 which is substantially covered by a plate 34 having teeth 36.

Crank 28 is supported in a bearing 38 and crank 28 is connected to shaft 40 which is supported inside of the outlet tube 18 and operates a screw conveyor 42 attached thereto, there being approximately three turns of the helical conveyor 42, part of which extends into the inside mouth of the cylindrical tube 18 inside of the container body 14. The plate 34 is an agitator plate and is rotated by the teeth 36 contacted by a drive member 50'.

The foregoing discussion is substantially the same as set forth in Patent No. 3,197,083 and this establishes the background for the present invention. The operation of the dispenser 10, the screw conveyor 42, the crank 28 and all of the operation of the dispenser is the same as that described in detail in Patent No. 3,197,083.

Inside of the cylindrical housing 18 on the screw conveyor 42 located at the bottom edge 52 of the outside periphery of the helical conveyor is a small, curved metal plate 54 which is fashioned and formed to fill part of the space from a point below the longitudinal axis of the shaft 40 on one edge of the helical conveyor 42 across in a direction toward the end of the conveyor 42. The plate 54 is curved in substantially the same curvature as the inside curvature of the cylindrical outlet tube 18 and fits very close thereto, preferably very slightly touching same, although it is shown for purpose of illustration in FIG. 3 slightly separated therefrom. The outside surface of plate 54 may gently touch, without binding, the inside surface of the outlet tube 18 particularly in the vicinity of the outlet port 22 so as to seal off the port 22 when the crank 28 is substantially at bottom position. This is accomplished by placing the plate 54 on the conveyor 42 in a down position when the crank is in a down position so that one turn or any complete number of turns of the crank ends with the closure plate 54 in place. Thus, plate 54 is a valve operable to open or close port 22 and, due to its centrifugal force being on the outer peripheral conveyor 42, tends to drop to downward position which as sists in bringing the crank 28 to a downward position or in maintaining the crank 28 in a downward position with the plate 54 covering the opening 22 when the crank is rotated suddenly by the hand 30 and then released. Plate 54 covers the opening 22 and tends to reduce the chance of the substance inside the container 12 and body 14 from becoming more fluid or otherwise adversely affected by atmospheric exposure such as dripping or leaking from the opening 22.

While I have shown and described a particular embodiment of my invention together with a suggested preferred mode of operation, this is by way of illustration only and does not constitute any sort of limitation on the scope of my invention since various alterations, changes, deviations, eliminations, substitutions, additions, omissions and departures may be made from the specific embodiment shown without departing from the scope of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed:

1. In a dispenser for dispensing a measured quantity of substance such as hand cleaner through a dispenser opening on said dispenser, said dispenser including a container having conveyor means manually operated therein to deliver the substance to the dispenser opening and said conveyor being movable and having a portion thereof moving adjacent the outlet, the improvement comprising:

(a) valve means on said dispenser operated by said manually operated means automatically to move out 4 of position to open said dispensing opening when the manual means is moved and automatically moving into position after said manual operating means is moved,

(b) said valve including a member attached to said conveyor and traveling therewith and moving into and out of position over said delivery opening,

(c) and said dispenser outlet being located in a curved portion in which said conveyor operates, said valve closure plate being curved with substantially the same curvature of said outlet, wherein said conveyor is a screw conveyor mounted on a shaft having a handle thereon, and said dispenser plate is attached to one edge of said screw conveyor extending a limited amount therefrom to close said opening in a non-dispensing position but to move out of the way and to expose said opening to the interior when the conveyor is operated.

2. The device claimed in claim 1 wherein the shaft has a handle thereon and said handle is located with respect to said conveyor plate so that when said handle is in down position said conveyor plate is positioned over said outlet whereby said plate moves into and out of position each time the handle is rotated a full turn.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,659,254 2/ 1928 Finger 222-23l XR 1,836,537 12/1931 Lawrence 222413 XR 3,197,083 7/ 1965 Elliott et al 222-23l WALTER SOBIN, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN A DISPENSER FOR DISPENSING A MEASURED QUANTITY OF SUBSTANCE SUCH AS HAND CLEANER THROUGH A DISPENSER OPENING ON SAID DISPENSER, SAID DISPENSER INCLUDING A CONTAINER HAVING CONVEYOR MEANS MANUALLY OPERATED THEREIN TO DELIVER THE SUBSTANCE TO THE DISPENSER OPENING AND SAID CONVEYOR BEING MOVABLE AND HAVING A PORTION THEREOF MOVING ADJACENT THE OUTLET, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING: (A) VALVE MEANS ON SAID DISPENSER OPERATED BY SAID MANUALLY OPERATED MEANS AUTOMATICALLY TO MOVE OUT OF POSITION TO OPEN SAID DISPENSING OPENING WHEN THE MANUAL MEANS IS MOVED AND AUTOMATICALLY MOVING INTO POSITION AFTER SAID MANUAL OPERATING MEANS IS MOVED, (B) SAID VALVE INCLUDING A MEMBER ATTACHED TO SAID CONVEYOR AND TRAVELING THEREWITH AND MOVING INTO AND OUT OF POSITION OVER SAID DELIVERY OPENING, (C) AND SAID DISPENSER OUTLET BEING LOCATED IN A CURVED PORTION IN WHICH SAID CONVEYOR OPERATES, SAID VALVE CLOSURE PLATE BEING CURVED WITH SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME CURVATURE OF SAID OUTLET, WHEREIN SAID CONVEYOR IS A SCREW CONVEYOR MOUNTED ON A SHAFT HAVING A HANDLE THEREON, AND SAID DISPENSER PLATE IS ATTACHED TO ONE EDGE OF SAID SCREW CONVEYOR EXTENDING A LIMITED AMOUNT THEREFROM TO CLOSE SAID OPENING IN A NON-DISPENSING POSITION BUT TO MOVE OUT OF THE WAY AND TO EXPOSE SAID OPENING TO THE INTERIOR WHEN THE CONVEYOR IS OPERATED. 